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BLOG OF POOTENHEIMER... Fear it, Love it
20030930
 
And I'm a year older
Yep, yep, today is my birthday. Woo! Getting older and older. There's a moderate chance that I'm older than you - let's just say that I'm a child of the 70s.

Anyway, enough of that. It's always good to hear good news, and it's especially cool when it's amazing good news.

Today is just beginning. A new day, a new adventure! Onward!
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20030929
 
Mondays make me tired
Man, I think we should have three day weekends scheduled at regular intervals. We have one at the beginning of fall for Labor Day, and then nothing until Thanksgiving, where we're given oodles of rest time, and then barely a month goes by until we have the ultimate in vacation time, that commercially endorsed family goodness (and, oh yeah - lest some people forget - this guy JC's birthday). See, I think it would work so much better if we had one three day weekend per month. Lots of R&R, everyone's better, motivation to work and study is rejuvenated. But NO, we have to go continuously for three months or so during fall. I may be forgetting a holiday between now and Thanksgiving, but my point remains.

Today's news is crazy. The thing I wonder is how this will affect this poor kid in the future. Will he be hardened, or will he be somehow more open to the idea of replicating the event? Hopefully the first.

Ah, and it's time for class. So I will blab some more later.
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20030926
 
Fridays make me tired
Another Friday, another week gone by. A fairly productive week. I've done quite a bit at work, finished a project that was due, got a new guitar, paid all my bills, exercised prolifically, and watched me some 24.

Hey, The Rundown is out today! You should go see it. But keep in mind, it's a movie. It's for FUN. Some critics out there seem to think otherwise. Perhaps all the movies they'd prefer to see should be confusing enough to be viewed multiple times to understand, and once the critic has reached that critical point, he's proud enough of himself to boost the rating level. Or maybe not. Maybe I'm just upset because I thought this was a FUN MOVIE. Not something I expected a lot out of. And neither should you. Nothing big, just entertainment on a rather raw level.

And oh yeah, there's a new preview out for some movie. Seems like lots of people are excited about this trailer, for some reason. Eh - I think I'll wait until I see it in the theater. Both the movie and the trailer, should circumstance decide that I should chance upon the theater showing of this trailer.

I should get my rest. I have a day of paintball tomorrow. And lots of guitar playing to do.
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20030925
 
Stuff and stuff
Well, I went ahead and picked up my birthday present to me. (For reference, it's next Tuesday.) I've only had a few minutes to check it out, but from what I could tell, it's quite nice. For starters, the case it comes with is a soft case, but it is the nicest soft case I've ever seen. Very solid, has two huge zipped pockets in front to carry everything you might need. Also has a very nice cord that's quite long (haven't measured yet), as well as the footswitch that you plug into for power. The footswitch's switch is used to switch outputs, so you could hook it up with a normal 1/4" low impedance connection, or with an XLR output, for, say, a PA system. The second connection's good to get fuller range of sound.

As for the guitar itself? It's quite pretty, I like how it looks. I got my model in black. It's built like a Fender, so it feels very similar to my Telecaster. Differences are that it's got more frets, the hammer-ons near the top of the neck are a little harder to hit (mainly for right-handed tapping - may be something I just need to get used to), and the string bends are actually cleaner than my Tele. It feels pretty good, though.

How does it sound, though? Well - I don't actually own most of the models it emulates, so I can't say how accurate it is. Except for the Telecaster. Which is pretty freakin' close to what mine sounds like. I put both of them on, set it to the same pickup setting, and tried it out - they sound essentially identical. As far as the rest - there are lots of sounds for the different models. I do like the Les Paul, and the acoustic models are all interesting. It's fairly convincing, but it is a little weird to hear a plugged-in acoustic sound next to the feeling of playing an electric guitar. The twelve-strings aren't dead-on, but they have a different sound of their own that are quite interesting, I'll probably use. As for the sitar and banjo, those are just cool.

I'll probably be playing a lot more guitar in the coming weeks (maybe have to give up the frequency of 24 watching, sadly). Perhaps even improve my skills. Eventually start recording stuff, after graduation.

And the news of the day? The future is now, baby!
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20030924
 
Exercising is good
It's good to work out. I've been going to the gym for a few weeks now, and it's producing noticeable results. Stack that on top of kung fu and some running, and I'd have to say I'm in decent shape. The one thing that surprised me, though - I had only been really working out for a month and a half, and when I started I wasn't too heavy. A nice 125, if you must know. (I'm 5'8", for reference.) Well, I weighed myself after that month and a half (6 weeks, possibly 5), and the result is something that not everyone believed when I told them. I clocked in at 142. That's right, over fifteen pounds of muscle packed on my Bruce Lee-like frame. My shirts fit tighter. It's nice.

Ah yes - I mentioned that I don't watch any television shows regularly before. I lied. I do watch one show - the Joe Schmo show. It's sucked me in. Something about a reality show focusing on ONE person. Without them even realizing it. Reminded me a lot of the Truman Show. It's compelling to watch, knowing that of all the people you're watching, only one is being sincere. And to see his sincerity, his reactions, his emotions, as other people watch and try to keep up the facade... well, it draws me in. I do wonder how he feels about the whole thing, after he discovers he's been played.

Ah, and some interesting news for today. I'm not sure whether to feel bad for the victims or be impressed by the guy's unique idea. Maybe both. Yeah, he's committed a crime, but nobody actually got hurt. The whole idea makes me have to smile, though.
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20030923
 
Geeks are cool
Geeks are cool. I've been considered a geek, although I'd really probably be more categorized as a nerd. A cool nerd who plays guitar and knows kung fu. I have been asked to use my geek/nerd abilities to help people before; helping people in ways like this are cool. Need to set up a home theater system? I'm your man. Want to know what the difference is between 480i, 480p and 1080i is? Talk to me. Digital cameras? Oh yeah.

And if you want to pull away from geekdom, just take guitar lessons. Major anti-geek points there. Martial arts walks a line somewhere in the middle. I like covering all the bases.
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20030922
 
TOO COOL
Yeah, another episode of 24. Man, I love this show! So good. Just for the record, I really don't watch much TV. The occasional SNL, or Conan, or sometimes some random Comedy Central. I really don't keep up with shows. But 24 is too sweet. Enough! Go rent the first season, try out even just the first disc, see if you can resist after that.

I would include a link, but the reviews and such usually have spoilers, which makes me mad. Ah - one other review - I saw The Rundown this last weekend, on a sneak preview. It's a great movie! I highly recommend it. Not an epic adventure or anything, but it's really fun. Had me applauding a few moments in the movie, along with a lot of the crowd. Really, it's that good.

Anyway, enough of my reviews. Go, taste of the fruits I give to you, then you may decide whether or not the flavors I embrace are also those you will pursue. Mmm, good.
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Budgets
You know, when you have a job and lots of bills to take care of (i.e., you're an ADULT), handling the budget can be a pain. It's one of those things when you've got money, and there's something just too utterly cool to pass up, but you don't know if you want to push the balance a bit close for comfort.

But when the choice is between buying extra fast food and movie outings for a couple of weeks, or spending more quality time with something you're impassioned with (say, oh, a guitar), I think the choice is not that hard to make.

We'll just have to see.
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Up late AGAIN
I had to stay up to do... homework! Yes, I actually do do homework on occasion. I know some people don't think so, but it happens. I managed to write a nice little chat program in Java, my first exploration into threading. Had to use Java 1.3.1 to do it. Fun stuff.

Watched another episode of 24 today - I just want to keep watching! Alas, I must be responsible and do my homework, and my laundry, and that eating thing I seem to keep craving. But I did it all! And still got an episode in. So I'd say that's a good day. Hopefully I can get up at a normal time. Yeah, that would definitely be a good thing.
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20030921
 
Saturday night
It's quite late, but I thought I'd write a little somethin' somethin', anyway. Just finished watching the first episode of season 2 of 24. Great series - I highly recommend the first one, and I hear the second one's just as good. We'll find out, I guess. I just can't handle watching it when it's on TV, since you really can't miss an episode or you've missed a lot. The whole thing pulls you in nicely, and it just feels real, somehow. Even though the craziness everyone goes through isn't what real is like for most people, I would hope. It's pulled me in, again, with just the first episode. Need some sleep, though, so I'll have to save the rest for later sometime.
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20030919
 
It's Friday
Friday, a good day. A day to finally have some time to relax and refrain from adding to ulcers. A day to revel in the joy that arrives when it is realized that tomorrow, I am sleeping in.

I'm kind of glad that hurricanes are one thing I don't have to worry about. When they get nasty, they can be bad news.

And my day is almost over with necessities! I have only to go and practice Lion Dance stuff. But kung fu is something to talk about a different day.
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Music 'n' stuff
So yeah, I'm a musician. One of my many abilities. Whether these are good abilities or not, I'll leave to be decided by other people. I'm a guitarist, and a wanna-be singer. Which is to say, I would like to be good at singing, but I've had no legitimate training. I do what's within my realm of vocal understanding.

But yes! A guitarist must own, among other things, a guitar. Maybe two. Maybe even more. I currently own four - in the order I got them: a Peavey Predator (cheap starting electric guitar), a Fender Telecaster (still love it), a Seagull, and a Seagull 12-string. I love them all. Except the Peavey. It's on constant loan to friends of mine who want to try out an electric guitar. Although it's got a special place in my heart, since it was my first guitar. Still is a pretty sucky guitar.

So I've been thinking about upgrading my first love, the electric. And I'm thinking about something rather new. If I get it, it will be soon, and since I've thought this much about it, I'll probably get it. Should be rather cool. I'll have to review it when it arrives.

Updates to come.
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20030918
 
The Beginning...
And so it begins.

This is my blog, or as some call it, a BLOG. And should you choose to read it, you'll cascade endlessly into my whimsical ramblings.

Today I won't babble endlessly, I'm just going to start up the blog, see what I can do with it, and so forth. I'll place some of my daily findings here so you may see things you may have otherwise missed out on.

May be updated daily, may not. We'll just have to wait and see.
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as of 10/23/03

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